Campo alle Serre Signal Station

Construction of the Campo alle Serre signal station was decided by royal decree of King Umberto I of Savoy in February 1888 in order to monitor maritime traffic on the Corsica Channel from a place with a commanding view, where there were ruins of an old lookout building called the 'Guardia al Turco'. Indeed, following the unification of Italy, the need had arisen to establish a network of posts for monitoring and defending the nation's coasts and shipping. The first signal stations were therefore created as Royal Navy facilities, tasked with surveillance and signalling. In 1869, there were 26 such posts along Italy's coasts, increasing to 33 in 1874.

Their staff was employed by the Naval Ministry and classified as 'signallers'. Before the Second World War, there were three signal stations in the northern part of the Tuscan Archipelago: Campo alle Serre in western Elba, Monte Grosso on the eastern side of the Island, and Monte Arpagna on the Island of Capraia. These were part of the so-called lookout network, responsible for identifying naval vessels at sea and exchanging communications with them by radio and optical signals.

The signal station also had the task of maritime light signalling for vessels crossing to the west of the Island, but its high position, no less than 601 metres above sea level, meant the building could be hidden by the clouds that gathered around Mount Capanne. For this reason, in 1909, the Punta Polveraia lighthouse was built near Patresi. Due to their distinctive architecture, these signal stations resembled the bridge of a ship. The main, rectangular masonry body grew narrower to the west in a smaller, semicircular structure topped by an octagonal metal lookout tower, situated in a panoramic position for overseeing the channel between Elba and Corsica.

The antenna tower, for radio and telegraph communications, is nearby. In 1920, a weather observatory also began operation, recording data up until 1953 when the facility was probably decommissioned. Today, the complex is a crumbling ruin with no roof, doors or windows, and it is advisable to stay outside for safety reasons.

(Antonello Marchese, translation from Italian)